The road ahead for Tesla

The Future. Tesla just reported its best year in company history, breaking records in both quarterly and annual profits. However, that doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing for the EV maker. Tesla stock has had a rocky year, due to everything from supply chain issues to mass recalls. As a growing number of carmakers invest in EV tech, Tesla may soon be facing tough competition from all angles.

Electrifying results

Tesla just posted its best year yet.

• • The car manufacturer hit $53.8 billion in revenue and earned $2.05 per share, up 750% from a year ago.
  • Its net income for the past quarter was a record-breaking $2.32 billion, or an 8x increase from the previous period.

Elon Musk summed up Tesla’s success on a results call: “2021 was a breakthrough year for Tesla and for electric vehicles in general. While we battled, and everyone did, with supply chain challenges through the year, we managed to grow our volumes by nearly 90%.”

The EV race
For quite a while, Tesla has enjoyed its status as the darling of the EV industry, dominating the market. In the last three years, the carmaker made up nearly 75% of US electric vehicle sales.

But now, the rest of the industry is starting to nip at its heels. Luxury car manufacturers like Bentley and General Motors have earmarked billions to go all-electric in the next decade while direct competitors like Rivian and Lucid are trying to become “Tesla-killers.”

Ultimately, Tesla’s not going anywhere soon — but the competition sure seems to be heating up. And, more players in the EV space means more innovation across the board.